71 



I think the other thing I am sa3dng is, and I have said this ear- 

 Her, we are operating through this directive in a manner consistent 

 with the statute, and let me be clear about that. The statute says 

 in Section 2001(c), "A document embodying decisions relating to 

 salvage timber sales proposed under the authority of this section 

 shall, at the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned and to the 

 extent the Secretary concerned considers appropriate and feasible, 

 consider the environmental effects of the sadvage timber sale and 

 the effect, if any, on any threatened or endangered species, and to 

 the extent the Secretary concerned, at his sole discretion, considers 

 appropriate and feasible, be consistent with any standards and 

 guidelines from the management plans applicable to the national 

 forest or Bureau of Land Management district on which the sal- 

 vage sale occurs," the key phrase being "to the extent the Secretary 

 concerned, at his sole discretion, considers". 



The Secretary has put out additional clarification consistent with 

 his discretion provided in the statute that you all authored so as 

 to ensure that the salvage sale program is implemented in a man- 

 ner consistent with the goals and objectives set up by the Presi- 

 dent, and that is simply what we are seeking to achieve here. We 

 are not stopping salvage sales. We are clarifying under which au- 

 thority salvage sales should proceed, consistent with the statute. 



Mr. Herger. So, you are saying that you are not stopping sal- 

 vage sales. Wc just went over the fact that we do have experts in 

 the field who have recommended sales in both of the cases that we 

 have pictures of. Are you saying, then, that the Secretary is mak- 

 ing the decision to override the experts in the field, to say, no, we 

 are going to hold these sales up? 



Mr. Lyons. No, Mr. Herger. The Secretary has simply indicated 

 that these sales in roadless areas should proceed under a different 

 process, the process that would normally apply to salvage sales if 

 the salvage rider were not in effect. It is likely that these salvage 

 sales will proceed. However, they will proceed under the normal 

 process of an EIS with an opportunity for public input and possibly 

 appeal. 



Mr. Herger. And we are already two years into both of these 

 sales. We have a window of maybe three years at the max, two to 

 three years. So in other words, by the time we finish studying this, 

 which was the whole purpose of the salvage bill to begin with, and 

 even if they decide to go ahead, there will not be any economic 

 value of going ahead and salvaging this. That is, in essence, what 

 you are saying. 



Mr. Lyons. No, Mr. Herger. That is not what I am saying. What 

 I am saying is 



Mr. Herger. Because with the present legislation, the Forest 

 Service supervisors, of which Jack Ward Thomas, the Chief, has in- 

 dicated in prior testimony and just here a few minutes ago, he has 

 confidence in, both have recommended, with their studies, going 

 ahead with these. Yet you are saying that we are going to have the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, Bill Clinton's Secretary of Agriculture, 

 hold these up an additional amount of time to the point that these 

 sales would be infeasible. 



